DIY Painted Book Edges

As of recent, the book community has been obsessed with sprayed book edges. I am one of those people. DIY sprayed edges has also become something everyone is trying. I’ve seen so many pictures in the past week alone!

I never thought I’d try and paint my books. Like ever. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t write in her books. I can’t even break the spine! But I was tempted to try this, and surprisingly, it turned out perfectly!

I was asked to make a tutorial on how to paint book edges. So, in today’s post I’ll be showing you how to do that!

 

What you’ll need:

• Acrylic paint
• Newspaper or anything to cover the front of your book (not really necessary but I used it just in case)
• Washi tape (flimsy kind would be best)
• Paint brush

 

Instructions:

First things first, if you’re confident about your painting skills then you wont really need the newspaper, but I used it just so I wouldn’t get any paint on the cover. It looks really confusing in the picture but all you need to do is cover the front and back cover.

Next thing is use some washi tape on the edges of the first page of the book. Paint tends to come on the edges by mistake (happened to me the first time). If you can get washi tape that comes off easily and won’t ruin your book, good.

I used washi tape that I thought was flimsy but when I came to take it off I realized it wasn’t. If this happens you can always use a blow dryer on the tape for a few minutes. It comes off easily afterwards.

I took a picture of the book below before I applied washi tape on the lower edge.

So next, make sure you’re using the best brush you have. I was using a big one the first time but It wasn’t really helping. I used a small one instead for this one and it works a lot better. Especially when painting the edges and corners.

Do not add water to your acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is perfectly fine the way it is. Water is most definitely not needed (at least it wasn’t for the paint I used). Go ahead and start painting!

When painting, paint the entire side. Don’t leave it to dry and then continue the rest of it, like below.

When done with one of the sides leave it to try for a few minutes. I wouldn’t let it dry for longer than 2 minutes though. The thing with acrylic is that once you’re done painting you’ll have to separate the pages from each others.

I know it sounds like a hassle but you it needs to be done. The pages don’t stick together strongly so there’s no need to panic about the pages tearing. The key is to not leave it to dry for too long. The moment you touch it and it feels dry, start separating.

Repeat these steps with each side that you paint.

One you’re done you’ll get this result!

 

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Have any questions? Go ahead and ask them!